Below is a list of some of my favourite Windows software,
some of which I’ve been using for well over a decade.
Utilities
| Name | License | Description |
| 7-Zip | FOSS | Lean archival tool |
| AquaSnap | Proprietary | Add better window snapping handling to Windows |
| Bulk Rename Utility | Freeware | Tool for bulk-renaming of files |
| CCleaner | Freeware | Remove temporary files, dead registry entries and manage system start-up processes |
| CDBurnerXP | FOSS | Tool for writing DVDs and CDs; writing and capturing disc images |
| ClassicShell | FOSS | Replaces stock Windows start-menu with a more configurable one. Sadly, no longer developed |
| Everything | Freeware | Very fast regex capable searching of system drives |
| f.lux | Freeware | Reduces blue light output of monitor as the sun goes down |
| Free Download Manager | FOSS | Download manager that supports multiple connections from one or multiple sources; plus pause/resume |
| Nmap (ncat) | FOSS | Network analysis tool. Great for testing firewall settings of remote servers |
| PuTTY | Freeware | Establish SSH connections from Windows |
| Python3 | FOSS | I always want a Python3 interpreter within quick reach |
| ShareX | FOSS | Simple, automated screenshot capturing. Even supports video capture if you hook it up to FFmpeg |
| WinDirStat | FOSS | Essential tool for analysing drive space usage |
| FileZilla | FOSS | Excellent SFTP, FTP client |
| PDF-Xchange Viewer | Freeware | Very light PDF viewer |
| UltraVNC | FOSS | VNC client and server |
Media
| Name | License | Description |
| Audacity | FOSS | Sound recording, editing and generation tool |
| Blender | FOSS | 3D modelling tool |
| FastStone Image Viewer | Freeware | Fast and light image viewing tool. Includes batch resizing, watermarking and more |
| Foobar2000 | Freeware | Music management from the makers of Winamp |
| Winamp | Freeware | Excellent music player with small screen footprint |
| GIMP | FOSS | Photo editing software. Not as feature-rich as pro alternatives, but more than adequate for the vast majority of people |
| HandBrake | FOSS | GUI for FFmpeg which makes it easy to encode video files into other formats. Has sensible presets |
| Huffyuv / Lagarith | FOSS | Lossless video codecs for fast, perfect captures |
| Inkscape | FOSS | Vector image creation |
| OBS Studio | FOSS | Screen video and audio capture; and live streaming |
| simpleDLNA | FOSS | Very light DLNA media server daemon for Windows |
| Spotify | Proprietary | Subscription fee required but worth it for music lovers |
| Streamlink | FOSS | Command line tool for piping live streams (twitch, etc.) to a native media player |
| VLC | FOSS | Trusty plays anything media player |
| MPV | FOSS | Light, minimalist media player forked from Mplayer |
| fre:ac | FOSS | Free Audio Converter. CD ripping and audio format conversion tool. Supports CDDB/freedb tagging |
Productivity
Communication
| Name | License | Description |
| Telegram | Freeware | Multi-platform instant messenger with end to end encryption |
| HexChat | FOSS | Simple multi-platform IRC client |
| TeamSpeak | Proprietary | Private server VoIP client and server; can self-host server on all major platforms |
| Zoiper | Proprietary | Software VoIP phone |
| Jitsi | FOSS | Open, software VoIP phone |
Security
| Name | License | Description |
| KeePass Password Safe | FOSS | Password manager |
| GPG4Win | FOSS | File and email encryption; key pair management |
| DBAN | FOSS | Dark’s Boot and Nuke. Bootable data destroyer. User with extreme caution! |
| Eraser | FOSS | Securely erase files on Hard Disk Drives |
| OpenVPN Client | FOSS | Connect to OpenVPN compatible VPNs |
Open source <3